We at SSON are incredibly excited to have launched SSONext - Fuelling the future of shared services. Our new podcast!

[LISTEN HERE]

Let’s dive straight into the why, the what, and, perhaps most importantly, why you should care! 

Our promise on this podcast?

This will be the 20 minutes a week where you’ll get the information you need to be in the loop on developments in GBS and shared services.

“SSONext is authentic, it's generous in terms of our sharing of best practices. We're going to leave each episode with continuous improvement tips, which is the lifeblood of shared services. And you're going to hear straight from shared services leaders at all levels in the organization about what's next, what's new, what's old-hat.”  - Naomi Secor, Global MD, SSON

The mood we want to set for the shared services industry, via a podcast

We want our listeners to feel optimism! The case studies you’ll hear about will show you that there is such a thing as a good problem to have! Because solving them drives innovation!

“I think that there are going to be moments where you realize that you're further ahead than you thought in the maturity model. You’ll find your challenges are shared amongst so many. And that means that when you listen to the people that are coming forward to share their experiences and their knowledge, you're going to know that, a) you're not alone and b) that other people have managed to overcome those challenges and are willing to help you. Your challenge is just one more step in the journey towards employing your GBS model, getting stronger shared services talent, or really re-envisioning what it means for the future of work. We’ve got this.” - Jordan Mullins, Head of Editorial, SSON

SSONext’s 5-step commitment to expanding industry education capacity using the audio medium 

1. Separating the facts from the assumptions.

Our hosts will spotlight shared services industry information backed by data and case studies.

Barbara tells the story of the evolution of shared services in our podcast vision workshop:

“In 2000, people were talking about ‘lights out shared services’ as this distant thing, which no one could really define. We pictured it like this: as you walk out of the room and you turn off the lights, shared services keeps running. Well guess what? It wasn't that futuristic. It's just taken a long time to get there. When you now talk to people who have these command centers that run automation you know we're nearly there!

"But we're not losing headcount. In fact, only 15% of shared services or GBS are actually translating FTE cuts into cost cuts. The rest are putting those staff back into value-added solutions like analytics and automation centers. It’s exciting that we're all plugged into the same space. We're figuring out where shared services goes next. We're not about history. We're all about the future. So ‘fueling the future of shared services’ is where we landed for our focus. That's what we're going to bring to the industry.” 

2. Learning from the next generation of shared services leaders

“We're seeing a real shift. Gen Z are going into their first leadership roles in the next five years. I just ran our North American Digital SSO Week event in which we did a poll of who had a workforce management strategy in place for Gen Z. So, 50% had a strategy in place; 30% didn't know; and 20% said, no. I don't think that our audience is as ready as they think they are for that next generation of leadership. It is coming faster than we think. Within SSONext, we’ll be discussing what we should be looking for in the next skill sets, as well as who we should be reaching out to and what type of talent we should be considering.” - Jordan Mullins, Head of Editorial, SSON

3. Industry information in a variety of formats for accessibility

We want to get the learnings out there and are putting the heft of our marketing engine behind it! In our experience, audiences enjoy short snippets of the best information.

SSONext sees it as our duty to bring shared services practitioners this information on a weekly basis, in 20-minute learnings that will have your finger on the pulse of the industry. Further, we are in a position to produce content that comes out of those conversations into a variety of further reading, videos, and reports to serve our audience. Look forward to a lot more!

4. Bringing diverse perspectives into shared services industry dialogue

Through our senior executive hosts, Barbara Hodge, Naomi Secor, and Jordan Mullins, shared services leaders can expect to hear a variety of styles. With different personalities, cultural backgrounds, and global experience running shared services events all over the world, this team will bring a diverse perspective that will have you thinking about your shared services plans with fresh new energy.

Not just the leaders! We’ll bring you stories from a variety of practitioners in and outside our network, covering in-country strategies alongside GBS strategies. Via SSONext, we will bring you stories from a range of practitioners across the industry as a whole.

5. The importance of a new medium of authorship to move the needle of content innovation

“The reason we're doing this podcast right now is because podcasting is having a moment; people are listening. People have been burned out over the last two years by Zoom calls. And I think we want to get information in a new way, as some of us return to commuting (what’s that you ask?) and particularly via a platform that is under utilized.” - Barbara Hodge, Global Editor, SSON

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LISTEN HERE

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Why the name “SSONext”?

We pride ourselves in having our finger on the pulse of the market and knowing what is coming up. We don't just look at how people are feeling right now. Instead, we anticipate what they're going to be doing next. 

“The SSON Research & Analytics division is a powerhouse of data, alongside the digital content that we produce and the fantastic reports published online. So, when we think about the next thing that is coming, and how to anticipate it, we never just ‘forecast’ a trend. We say what does this mean? How will that impact me? How can we prepare for that?” 

This name - SSONext - is a natural progression for SSON. It fills the obvious gap that was right in front of our eyes. And we paid attention!

We can’t wait to share our podcast with you. If you’re looking for interesting discussions that dive much further into where the industry is now and how we’re figuring out what’s next, catch Naomi Secor, Barbara Hodge, and Jordan Mullins here.

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LISTEN HERE

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